Anybody seen my Baby
by CJS-DEPPendent
Summary: House, a piano, scotch and the Rolling stones. Cuddy, a car and a doorbell. Could the two finally do something about that unresolved night that has been hanging over their heads? HUDDY. Please read and review.


_**Disclaimer: **I do not own House MD, the characters or the song used in this fanfiction._

_**A/N: **This is my first House fanfiction so reviews are more than welcome, but if you're only reviewing to flame, don't bother. House is actually a harder character to write than I had initially expected, so I'd be happy to hear your opinion on how I did._

_Enjoy!_

* * *

**Anybody Seen My Baby**

Greg House was not a romantic man. He rarely even admitted the fact that there were emotions somewhere within him. After all, he greater the distance between him and the world, the less likely it was that he'd be hurt. And yet …

Limping from his couch to the piano that filled half his living room, House sat down staring at the keys.

She was so …

He couldn't quite find the words. She was the most annoying woman he'd ever met. She drove him up the walls on a regular basis, she pissed him off more than anyone, who didn't share the same basic DNA as him, ever had. And yet he couldn't get her out of his mind. That ass … that cleavage … those eyes …

Why had he gone to her house? If he'd just stayed at home, called Wilson to brag about how right he'd been about the whole baby issue, nothing like this would have happened. He wouldn't be sitting at his piano, his mind completely clouded with images that did nothing to help his peace of mind.

* * *

Lisa Cuddy was only human. She knew that night had happened only because of the pain she'd been feeling. She knew he was the most impossible man to get along with, that she was a fool for even _thinking_ of what she was about to do. And yet she was going to do it.

There was no sign, when looking at the house from the outside, that the man inhabiting it was the most unique human being she'd ever met. It actually looked a lot like all the other houses on the block. But it wasn't. She knew that inside it lived a man the likes of which most people would never get to meet. But she had met him. She had met him, she had slept with him, she had hired him and, god help her, she had gradually fallen for him. That could be the only explanation for her present situation: sitting in her car, looking out the window at the house.

Should she go in? After all, the last time they'd been together outside of work, this whole mess had gotten started.

* * *

House knew there was only one person who minimally understood him. And the funny thing was, he'd never even met him. Probably never would, either. But he was a man with such wisdom that House had, on several occasions, considered turning him into his religion. After all, 'the Church of Mick Jagger' did have quite a nice ring to it.

Without thinking, his fingers found the right keys and the words were falling from his lips.

* * *

With firm, determined steps, Lisa made her way up to the front door. That part was easy. The next part, however, the conscious movement of her arm to ring the door bell was not as easy.

A few calming breaths, and she was ready. But, just as she was going to press the small button, she heard something inside that made her stop.

_She was more than beautiful_

_Closer to ethereal_

_With a kind of, down to earth_

_Flavour_

Cuddy had worked around House long enough to know almost all the lyrics to every Rolling Stones' song in existence. But House playing this one now seemed to her to be more than a coincidence.

* * *

_Rinnng_

Hearing the annoyingly high pitched ring of his door bell, House hung his head and, taking another sip of his scotch, grabbed his cane and walked over to the door.

There was really no point checking who it was. After all, he had every intention of sending whoever it was away and returning to his scotch and piano (in that order).

_Or not …_

"Uh … hi …" he greeted the gorgeous creature standing on his door step.

"Hi …" she replied.

Well, she had more guts than him, he'd give her that much; she'd actually made it to the ringing the bell part.

…

House had never been a man to be speechless, whether it be a snarky comment, a sarcastic observation, racist joke or just an outright offensive quip, he always had it. But not right now. Right now he was completely speechless and he hated her for doing that to him.

"Uh, House?" started Cuddy "You do realise that it's winter … and snowing …"

Nodding, House started back to his trusted piano leaving the door open for Cuddy to walk in if she wanted to. Apparently she did. Either that or the cold was too much for her, because five seconds after he turned his back, she closed the door and stood by it looking at his back.

There was that silence again.

"Why are you here?" he asked not looking at her.

Looking around, she shook her head knowing he couldn't see her "I don't know"

_Ha!_ thought House who was all too familiar with the act of driving somewhere in the middle of the night, not knowing why.

"Ok …" he replied caressing the keys with his fingers, the urge to start playing growing.

"Are you going to look at me?" she asked

Shaking so slightly that she couldn't see it, he slowly turned around and immediately knew he was done.

There she was. Lisa Cuddy in his apartment. High heels, flesh coloured stockings, black jacket covering her up to her knees hiding what he was sure was a sinfully tight skirt with some kind of slit at the back, the coat's top buttons undone, exposing the thin fabric of her dark blue shirt which somehow looked more attractive now than it had at work.

"Happy?" he asked

Stepping further in the room, Cuddy asked "do you want me to go?"

Knowing the answer would put him in a vulnerable situation, House, ever the master of evasiveness, replied with a question "do you want to go?"

'_Ha, ball's in your court now'_ he thought as she glared at him, hating the tactic and, also unsure what to answer.

Finally she made up her mind and shook her head "no"

"Ok, then. That's settled" he replied and turned back to the piano.

"I heard you playing" she said moving, slowly, closer to him.

"All the way from your house?" he asked "that's a sad excuse to drive all the way here"

"No…" Cuddy was happy he had his back to her and couldn't see the smile on her face "I was outside and heard you playing"

"Ok"

Silence

"It was nice" she tried

"Hm"

"are you going to say anything other than 'Ok' and 'Hm'?" she asked stopping three feet away from his bench and looking at his hands which were resting on the piano.

"Uh …"

"That's it, I'm going" she said turning towards the door, not wanting to stay there and be ignored

"No!"

Shocked, Cuddy turned around and looked at House who was slowly limping towards her

"Why are you here?" he asked her

Now it was Cuddy's turn to be silent

"Fine then" said House turning his back to her "go"

"I … uh …" began Cuddy "I don't know why I'm here …"

"Well even _I_ know why!" he said turning back to her with a mocking look

Look at him with an intrigued look, Cuddy was not prepared to reply to his answer "You have the hots for me"

"I … excuse me?" she asked with a laugh "I have the _what's _for_ who_?"

"The _hots_ for _me_" he repeated, now regaining his confidence as the spotlight moved from him to Cuddy "you _like_ me"

"Oh, I do, do I?" she asked

House merely nodded and turned back to grab his scotch

"Fine …"

House nearly spat out the scotch, but, seeing as it was a single malt one, he controlled himself. Had Cuddy just admitted to liking him, as in _liking_, liking him?

"… but _you_ have the" she held her hands up in air quotes "hotsfor _me_ too"

"Do I?"

'_Wow … déjà vu'_ thought House as Cuddy nodded

"And you know that, _how_?"

"Well, why else would you come to my house, walk up to the door, chicken out, and leave?"

Now Greg was shocked "how'd you?"

When Cuddy merely smiled, he nodded and hung his head "Wilson"

"Wilson" she confirmed "Well, that and Mrs. Dawes, my next door neighbour, stopped me on the way to work the next morning to _warn_ me that she had spotted a strange looking man with a stick loitering around my place …"

"And, why does "strange looking man with a sick" immediately translate to "Greg House" in your mind?" he asked hoping to talk his way out of the situation

"She also said he drove off on a motorcycle then proceeded to rant about the noise they make for 10 minutes"

'_Yep'_ thought House, _'she knows'_

"I'm gonna kill Wilson" replied House looking over her shoulder so that it kind of looked like he was looking _at _her when he was actually doing his best to look _away_ from her.

"So why _where_ you there?" she asked smiling and walking closer to him.

"I … uh …"

"What? No quick answer or sarcastic remark? I'm shocked" she replied in mock surprise. When he didn't reply, she continued "let's face it House, we have a problem here"

"Problem? What problem? I have no problem"

"House … we have a problem" she repeated looking up at him. It kind of amazed her how, even in heels, he was so much taller than her.

House merely let out an uncharacteristic sigh and looked at her "and that is?"

"We have the hots for _each other_"

"Do we?"

"House …"

"… Cuddy" he replied defiantly, humour always was the best way to avoid serious moments.

"Come on, I found you sitting here alone, playing Piano and sipping scotch. You're miserable"

"I'm _always _miserable!" he replied sipping the scotch again "and I _always_ drink scotch…"

"House …"

It was then that Cuddy realised that during the past few seconds, she and House had moved much closer to each other and, suddenly that night at her house came flooding back to her.

"I liked the song …" she replied in a low voice looking at his neck, the tallest part of him she could see without breaking her neck.

"… anybody seen my baby" he replied "Mick Jagger was always good at …"

"Ethereal?"

"What?" he asked confused

"The song … '_Closer to ethereal'_ …" she repeated now looking up at him

"Oh … uh … yea …"

Cuddy was seriously shocked about this new side of House. Through the whole conversation, there had barely been a single comment or nasty remark, he was actually speechless, and more than scaring her, it thrilled her.

"I am?" she asked smiling up at him, their mouths now so close that it seemed impossible for a kiss not to happen.

Before House could answer, his neck seemed to get a mind of its own and he bent down just enough to touch his lips to Cuddy's. Like their previous kiss, there was a brief moment of surprise before they both let passion take over and, dropping his cane, House pulled Cuddy as close to him as he could.

Cuddy wasn't naïve enough to believe that she would be able to get Gregory House into a relationship; that would be like caging a wild tiger: tiresome, difficult, dangerous, and ultimately fruitless. But maybe this meant that, inside the miserable, hurtful, cold exterior of the diagnostician, there was a beating heart and that, just maybe, someday there would be room in that heart for her. Whatever the outcome, she was willing to wait.

* * *

I hope you enjoyed that, please review and tell me what thought (but please, no flames)

Thanks,

CJS-DEPPendent


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